Keevil Railway Heritage Group

Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Trip: 5th September 2018

On Wednesday 5th September 2018 we are planning our next annual visit to a working steam railway heritage site and a trip on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway (GWR).

This railway was once part of the Great Western Railway mainline from Birmingham to Cheltenham via Stratford upon Avon (known as the Honeybourne line). During the Beeching cuts many of the stations on route were closed in the sixties. The line continued to Cheltenham until it was run down and closed in 1976.

The present Preservation Group was formed in the early 80’s. Operations began at Toddington Station in 1984 reaching Cheltenham Racecourse station in 2003, and in April this year the line was extended towards Stratford upon Avon at Broadway.

Our rail trip will start at Cheltenham Racecourse, travelling to Broadway through some of the most spectacular scenery in the Cotswolds, with commanding views of sleepy hamlets and villages stretching across towards the Malvern Hills. It is also one of the few heritage lines that can boast a tunnel. The railway has been featured on BBC TV series Father Brown.

If you would like to be part of this nostalgic trip back in time, the estimated cost will be £35 per person which includes discounted group rail travel. If numbers exceed expectation the cost will be reduced.

Your ticket will include return coach travel from Keevil to Cheltenham Racecourse station, a steam train from Cheltenham Racecourse to Broadway and back. The coach will leave Keevil (Stocks Green) at 8.00am and return at approx. 6.30pm.

You will have three hours in Broadway to enjoy this idyllic Cotswold village. There are a wide range of eating places for lunch. A cream tea can also be arranged subject to suitable numbers wishing to participate on the return rail trip at a cost of an additional £6.00 per person.

There are a limited number of places on this trip so to avoid disappointment please let me know as soon as possible if you would like a ticket. Closing date for numbers is Saturday 16th June 2018. Payments are required by no later than Saturday 30th June 2018.

How we started…

The Keevil Railway Heritage Group was established in 2017 following a spur of the moment idea when it became known (prior to any press release ) that the iconic Flying Scotsman was to visit the West Somerset Railway and give trips along the line for rail enthusiasts.

With tickets likely to be at a premium, time was of the essence, and it was felt that there was a better chance to secure tickets if they were requested by a railway group. Having to act quickly a few people who we thought would like to be part of this event were contacted. We obtained several names and lodged our interest in the name of the Keevil Railway Heritage Group with the West Somerset Railway in January.

It was not for another two months that ticket allocations were made to interested groups. We were able to purchase 22 tickets which was fortunate as that was the number on our list at the time! Hence the Keevil Railway Heritage Group was born.

Day Out on the Flying Scotsman 2017

Our September day trip was a great success. Leaving by coach at 6.30 am we travelled to Bishops Lydeard for the 10.00 am non-stop journey to Minehead on the Flying Scotsman, rekindling the days of its service from London to Edinburgh. The return trip was pulled by a steam engine from the West Somerset fleet. A very memorable day.

Due to the limitation of tickets we were unable to give more people the chance to join our group on that occasion.

So that we did not to lose the momentum it was subsequently decided to continue with the group and extend a warm welcome to more people if they would like to join us. The sole purpose of the group is to hold an annual outing in September to other railway heritage sites and have a trip on their railways.

If you are interested in joining the Keevil Railway Heritage Group please contact Tony and Rachel Howe (01380 870661)

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